Educational Science

Humans spent centuries conspiring to fly, so it might be hard to imagine that any creature would give up the skill, and yet penguins waddle among us. A new study helps confirm that these seabirds traded flight to become better swimmers. Penguins have a litany of physical features that make...

Animal Sex: How Penguins Do It

There are about 18 species of penguins, and though their mating behaviors are fundamentally similar, each species has its own quirks, said penguin researcher Emma Marks of the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Breeding usually takes place during the Antarctic summer (October through February), though some species do mate...

As cute as tuxedo-patterned penguins would look sporting oversize loafers, footwear is not part of the dress code for these warm-blooded birds. Bare feet prevent these stately ice emperors from burning up in their suits. Most of the penguin body is kept cozy by its warm, waterproof plumage. Beneath the...

Images: Downy Magellanic Penguin Chicks Suffer From Hypothermia

Too big to protect (Image credit: D. Boersma/U of Washington)Magellanic penguins are medium-sized penguins that live along the coasts of Chile and Argentina. Researchers based at the University of Washington in Seattle have been monitoring a Magellanic colony located about halfway up the coast of Argentina for nearly 30 years,...

Magellanic Penguins Devour 2 Million Tons of Seafood Yearly

South American Magellanic penguins gobble down 1.5 million tons of silverside fish, squid and small, oily fish such as sprat every year. If all of the world's 1.3 million Magellanic penguins are as voracious as their Patagonian counterparts, then the black-and-white birds may be bolting down 2 million tons of...

Penguins Wear a Shield of Cold Air in Winter

Emperor penguins “wear” an invisible shield of cold air that helps to prevent body heat loss, allowing the flightless birds to survive the sub-zero temps of Antarctica, a new study finds. The report, published in the journal Biology Letters, demonstrates just how hardy the birds are. “In most birds, plumage...

Penguins Thrived in Antarctica During Little Ice Age

Penguin populations in the Ross Sea of Antarctica spiked during the short cold period called the Little Ice Age, which occurred between A.D.1500 and 1800, new research shows. The results run contrary to previous studies that found increases in Antarctic penguin populations during warmer climates and decreases during colder climates,...

Found: Africa's Oldest Penguins

Penguin fossils from 10 million to 12 million years ago have been unearthed in South Africa, the oldest fossil evidence of these cuddly, tuxedoed birds in Africa. The new discovery, detailed in the March 26 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, could shed light on why the...

How Climate Change May Help Penguin Colony

Antarctic warming has been a boon for one large colony of Adélie penguins, a finding that's surprising scientists. A recent study found that over the last 60 years, a colony of the birds on Beaufort Island in the Ross Sea, south of New Zealand, increased by 84 percent, from 35,000...

'Critter Cam' Reveals Secrets of Penguin Hunts

A new critter cam has captured the speedy dives of Antarctic penguins as they hunt for prey. The videos, captured by cameras attached to the birds, reveal that when going for fish, penguins use shallow dives, but may plunge deep into the frigid Antarctic waters to capture their favorite food,...